They were more than just consolation prizes to contestants who "played a
good game but couldn't quite match up to their competitors" (21st
century translation, "gave too many sucky answers and failed hard").
They were also the only means families, partygoers, and in some cases,
impressionable children, had of playing their favorite TV game shows.
They were...THE HOME VERSIONS.
While perusing the best secondhand bookshop in the world the other day,
Half Price Books, I came across a rarity--what appeared to be a complete
version of "Win, Lose, or Draw."
WLOD, as we'll conveniently and lazily acronym from here on
out, was a TV version of Pictionary that floated down that weird river
in "Deliverance." Indeed, WLOD was co-executive produced by host Bert
Convy and the backwoods canoer himself, Burt Reynolds.
I snapped the game up quickly for two reasons--it would be an obvious
addition to anybody's 80s game show home game collection, plus it would
be as much fun as the TV game show...I mean, it said so right on the
box.
As far as used board games go, this is the most complete I've seen. It
even comes with the advertising flyers for other 80s home games for
Hollywood Squares, The Price is Right, and the junior spinoff version of
WLOD.
The previous owner quite clearly played the first clue -- "The Big
Apple," found it far too easy, and never played it again. This was the
second page torn from the sketchpad included in the set.
The first page
was actually a notice, politely written out, telling you to find the
game board and instructions underneath the plastic tray. It sounded
insulting at first, but then I realized I couldn't find the
instructions--oh, there they were, right where I was told. Thank you Meesrs. Milton and Bradley.
This has got to be the only set of game instructions I've seen to be
partly written in rebus. Luckily, for those of you who don't do so well
deciphering picture clues...and why would you be interested in this
particular game if you don't? There was a translation underneath.
The curious part of this set is the actual game board and those lovely
multicolored pawns. Instead of keeping score on the pad just like the
good old TV show (hastily scrawled out by Bert, or Burt, sometimes Vicki
Lawerence, and let's not concern ourselves too much with Robb Weller),
scores are tallied by each player collecting one each of four different
colored pawns.
The color playing for is determined by a roll of a
numerical die--dots I guess might be too much for a brain already addled
with struggling to draw a family friendly version of "A little bird told
me." Whoever gets all four pawns must then continue correctly answering
clues until they roll and land on the drawing of a spade. Correctly
answering a clue on this space earns you the coveted "Ace in the Hole"
card and the win.
The Gameboard.
Or you could just arrange the pawns nicely around the center of your
table and play the game as nature intended, with scores written on
paper.
And if you could put two sofas in your living room and replace your 42"
flat panel LCD with a large pad of blue paper, that would so totally
rock, too.
Listen to the full master theme song of "Win, Lose or Draw!" at our
YouTube account, "cmonfwank" or below!
